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Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 1993

NCJ Number
151166
Date Published
December 1994
Annotation
This survey, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, found that Federal law enforcement agencies employed about 69,000 full-time personnel authorized to make arrests and carry firearms as of December 1993.
Abstract

The survey's count of officers included all personnel with Federal arrest authority who were also authorized to carry firearms in the performance of their official duties. The survey did not include police officers, criminal investigators, and other law enforcement personnel of the U.S. Armed Forces. Overall, half of all Federal officers authorized to make arrests and carry firearms were employed by agencies located within the Department of Justice. The largest employers of Federal officers, accounting for 58 percent of the total, were the U.S. Customs Service (10,120), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (10,075), the Bureau of Prisons (9,864), and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (9,466). Of the total 69,000 Federal officers, 40,002 performed duties related to criminal investigation and enforcement, 11,073 worked in corrections, 7,127 performed duties primarily related to police response and patrol, 5,852 performed duties related to court operations, and 3,945 had security and protection responsibilities. About half of all Federal officers were employed in California (9,006), Texas (7,761), New York (6,305), the District of Columbia (6,133), and Florida (4,362). Federal officers whose primary duties related to police response and patrol or criminal investigation and enforcement comprised 68 percent of the total. Supplemental information on Federal agencies with authority to carry firearms and make arrests is appended. 1 table

Date Published: December 1, 1994